Westenra Boys - Notes on Vampires 1 Picture

As I work on my Dracula spinoff (see here: khialat.deviantart.com/art/The…), I've also been working out details about how I plan to depict vampires, taking aspects from Bram Stoker's book and various myths and descriptions from history. Here's the first of two pages I'm currently doing, to show how the bloodsuckers seen in my little universe are and are not like those found elsewhere:

NOTES ON VAMPIRES 1 (As seen in the Westenra Boys universe)- It is not known exactly when or how vampires first came into being; some theorize that they have existed at least since the Mayans - leaving legends of the bat-deity Camazotz in their wake; the seductive Lilith of Mesopotamian myth may be further evidence- Many distinctive breeds exist; Dracula and his ilk belong to the Strigoi, the most common breed in Europe for hundreds of years, supplanting the meeker Moroi and the decadent Nosferatu (many humans have erroneously used these names interchangeably - even "experts" like Abraham Van Helsing)- Strigoi vampires are notorious for their shapeshifting abilities; all can become a vampire bat - or a human-sized bat-like creature - from when they are turned, and they invariably master other forms over time; specimens have been described as turning into wolves, rats, cats, owls, moths, flies, mosquitos or leeches; becoming mist is a rarer talent that Dracula was one of the few to master- Vampires are repelled by Christian symbols such as crucifixes - not out of fear of God, but due to a shared psychic memory of how Christians have harmed and destroyed so many of their kind; stronger, more aggressive specimens can overcome their fear- Fire, water, bullets and electricity will NOT destroy them, or even inflict lasting damage (though water blessed as "holy" may case enough psychological distress to repel them)

Stay tuned for the next page - and the tale of the Westenra Boys will be continued soon enough!